After X (formerly Twitter) threatened legal action last month, two privacy-focused platforms for viewing X content—Nitter and XCancel—appear to be officially offline, and this time, they may stay that way. Nitter was an open-source project that allowed users to read X posts without logging in or using the platform’s official app. It had been used to power services like XCancel and others, offering a cleaner, ad-free experience by removing tracking cookies and JavaScript. However, X sent Nitter a cease-and-desist letter, accusing it of violating its terms of service by scraping data from its API, which X claims was used to access accounts and session tokens unlawfully. Despite the legal threat, Nitter initially claimed on its GitHub page that it would continue operations following legal advice, promising more details soon. In early September, both Nitter and XCancel briefly resumed service after a short pause. However, the situation has since changed. On Friday, September 11, Nitter’s GitHub page was archived, placing the project in read-only mode and effectively halting any further updates or modifications. Meanwhile, XCancel shut down its service on Monday, posting a message stating that it had to suspend operations due to “new developments in the ongoing legal proceedings.” Nitter’s approach allowed users to access X content without needing an account, which X reportedly finds problematic. The platform relies on ads to generate revenue, and allowing users to bypass its app means losing potential ad views. This issue has come up before—years ago, X (then Twitter) banned third-party apps from accessing its content, leading to the decline of popular tools like Twitterific and Tweetbot. This wasn’t the first time X attempted to shut down Nitter. In 2024, Nitter’s main instance, Nitter.net, went offline after X introduced new API restrictions, forcing users to link their Nitter instances to real X accounts. For people who prefer to consume X content without participating on the platform, the closure of these services is a setback. These platforms offered a way to stay informed without contributing to X’s user growth or ad revenue. Nitter did not respond to a request for comment, leaving the future of similar services uncertain.